Community Service Knows No Distance

Making an eight hour trek to Detroit isn’t something that most students would have in mind during their summer vacation. But this year youth groups from both Bettendorf, Iowa and York, Pennsylvania have decided to make that journey.

Every year, their church organization “Assemblies of God” hosts the “Fine Arts Festival” in different cities around the country. This year, they are holding the event at COBO Hall, in downtown Detroit with the theme “A City Desperate for Hope.” While here, over 70,000 junior and senior high school students will compete in seven major fine arts divisions: Art, Communication, Drama, Exhibition, Instrumental, Vocal, and Writing.

While students in “First Assembly of God’s” youth group started to prepare for the competition, Iowa youth pastor Megan Yturriaga sat at her computer, logged on to Google and began to seek out volunteer opportunities for them while in Detroit. After finding a few programs to choose from, she decided that Covenant House would be the perfect place. Pastor Paul from Pennsylvania also explained that they sought out service opportunities in Detroit because, “We didn’t just want to stay in the conference center; we wanted to get to know some people in Detroit.”

With only 5 days in the city, most of which will be spent in competition, both groups aimed to accomplish as much work as possible despite the 90 degree weather. The 21 member youth group (ages 11-18) from Iowa began their day by sorting through scattered piles of donated clothing, hoping to finally bring order to the storage area that had been overrun by large bags and boxes filled with clothes. “We think it’s a great cause” says one of the students when asked why they decided to volunteer. “We wanted to help people who are doing good things”, youth pastor Yturriaga adds.

When the youth group from Pennsylvania attending the same conference arrived a few days later, they shared the talents they are competing with. Members sang, played guitar, and acted, emphasizing a theme of love and hope. Abby, one member of the youth group said she came, “To make a difference and just show there are people who have compassion.” Her friend Cale added, “It’s really nice…we try to develop our ministry skills [during the trip].” Their youth group was so touched by the stories they read on the Covenant House website that they collected $1,151 from their congregation and purchased 75 pillows, many hygiene items, and (the highlight of their donation pile) a Wii system for the Crisis Center. One of the parents with the group explained that their time at the Fine Arts Festival isn’t just about the competition; it’s about doing something greater.

With another semester quickly approaching, the students from Bettendorf, Iowa and York, Pennsylvania can go home knowing that their sacrifice of time, and their hard work has been greatly appreciated by everyone here at Covenant House Michigan.